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TÜMSİAD, İŞHAD to vote for change on Sept. 12
Speaking at separate fast-breaking iftar dinners they organized on Sunday, Hasan Sert and Recep Ekşi, presidents of TÜMSİAD and İŞHAD, respectively, both underlined the significance of the proposed changes for the country and their determination to show their approval of them on the day of the referendum.
Stating that TÜMSİAD has 42 domestic and eight overseas offices, where it serves 8,500 members, Sert said they made the decision to cast a “yes” vote on Sept. 12 following extensive discussions with their High Advisory Council and executive committee and with all their provincial presidents. He added that they never thought of it as support or opposition to any political party.
“Removing things that are holding our country back and the nation’s future are important to us, as is a better democracy and an improved standard of living. We consulted all bodies within TÜMSİAD and took this decision without heeding politics and by putting priority on national interests. We believe that the proposed 26 amendments are a turning point for us,” Sert stated.
Yıldız: Turkey cannot continue with this Constitution Speaking at TÜMSİAD’s iftar dinner, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız called on all political parties to act responsibly in the Sept. 12 referendum because, he said, Turkey cannot continue with its current Constitution. “Without differentiating between political parties, let’s, altogether with the government and the opposition, have a new beginning and turn a new page on Sept. 12,” he stated, adding that “it is impossible for our country, which has reached its limit, to continue with this Constitution. Remember, rightists, leftists, conservatives, everyone used to complain about the 1982 Constitution. What we say now is let’s change it all together.” Turkey’s current Constitution was drafted 28 years ago under military rule established following a violent coup in 1980. In regards to proposed changes to the structure of the higher judiciary, Yıldız said they would end the “caste system” and bring about transparency. “Don’t forget, every ‘yes’ on Sept. 12 is an invitation to democratization, liberation and more justice,” he added. |
Once approved, the reform package will improve democratic representation in the higher judiciary through changes to the structure of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), limiting the jurisdiction of military courts solely to disciplinary affairs, opening the decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) to judicial review and paving the way for the trial of the 1980 coup perpetrators. The package will also establish an ombudsman’s office, give citizens the right to individually apply to the Constitutional Court and enable affirmative action for women, children and the disabled. Sert referred to all those envisaged changes in his speech while elaborating on TÜMSİAD’s reasons for backing the package on Sept. 12.
Ekşi pointed out the possible benefits Turkey could derive from approving the proposed constitutional amendments, too. He explained they would endorse the package to help Turkey develop and advance both politically and economically, adding that people will certainly side with a better democracy on Sept. 12 as well. “Those who assumed that this nation will bow to a dictatorship have read the signs incorrectly,” he said.
The EU-backed reform package has received huge support from domestic business circles. It has already been endorsed by the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the Free Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (HÜRSİAD) and the Anatolian Lions Businessmen’s Association (ASKON), as well as scores of local business groups.
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